Back to Back to Back Vacancies

So we turned over the keys to the Hillside House on May 15 and really finished up on June 1.  But back at the 4-plex things started ramping up.

A little history.  Remember the 6 month renovation of 102 back in 2012?  The tenants who moved in were problematic (understatement!).  There were 5 people living in a 2 bedroom townhouse.  The dad was big, imposing, and not a nice guy. He antagonized the neighbor and his friends had gang ties.

By May 1, the cops had been there one-too-many times and we invited Jose and Clarissa to leave.  We told them that they could move out by the end of May, or we could start eviction process.  Although they asked for some extra time they agreed to leave and moved out by the end of June.  Fine, whatever - just leave!!!

So here we go...
June - We're busy with family stuff out of state, knowing in the background that Jose and Clarissa should be out by the end of the month.

July 4 - 102 is vacant and  the work begins.  Cue the cleaning crew. Remember the peel and stick tiles we installed in May 2011?  They still look pretty good!  And, as I hoped, I was able to remove and replace individually replaced tiles.  Use a hair drier to soften the adhesive (not the hot air gun!), and 2" scraper to help get underneath.  My only caution in using these tiles is to be aware that the tiles that are in the direct sunlight they do shrink a bit and the seams open up.  Those are the tiles I had to replace!

July 13 - Tenants in 103 are moving out - without notice.   Why?  The Property manager was being mean to them...The reality is they were behind in their rent (again) and we weren't giving them any more time.  So they started moving out.  Key word: started.  This story is worth a blog post all by itself...stay tuned. 

August 1 - Tenants in 104 moved out.  (At least we knew about this one!) Lots to do in 104, but it is scheduled renovation, not tenant damage!  The repair on 104 gets its own blog post, too!

So here we are, the end of August. Unit 102 is rented to 2 grad students.  103 is finished but vacant.   104 done with tenants on the horizon.

Move in date

May 15, 2013

After eight months of seemingly non-stop work at the Hillside house, our God-sent tenants started moving in. Can you say "hallelujah?"  They are young professional women who are absolutely a joy and God’s gift! 

We took the basement back to the concrete walls and then built a fabulous bathroom, media room, 2 bedrooms, a laundry area and have the potential for a great kitchenette downstairs.   The kitchen and bathroom upstairs were also gutted and rebuilt completely.  We replaced every inch of electrical wire in the house, including the circuits.  Likewise, there is not even a single inch of the original copper plumbing. 

We did hire a couple of guys to do some of the jobs or we would never have finished!  As it was, we  still spent every weekend and several hours each week from October – May at that house and it looks great but I was exhausted physically and emotionally by the end of May.  The last few weeks I was kind of dragging my feet but the end was in sight!  Diego, on the other hand, is like the Energizer Bunny!  

However, don’t be fooled!  Just because the inside is done, doesn’t mean the job is done!  Now, the outside beckons.